The better route

Rebuilding our state transportation fund with toll hikes is akin to a liquor tax on shoppers only at the most popular stores. Besides fairness, there are other reasons to favor a gas tax hike over toll hikes:
A gas tax hike would cost less: no multimillion-dollar payments to bond brokers and no interest payments.
A gas tax hike wouldn't cause congestion by shifting traffic to side routes.
A gas tax wouldn't require a discount to ease toll burdens on regular commuters. It also wouldn't require tolls on Routes 80 and 78 for "fairness."
A gas tax hike would encourage conservation by all residents.
Out-of-staters buy gas, too.
Perhaps most important, crediting gas tax hike revenues directly against the state debt is far preferable to a credit from toll monetization. The latter would lower interest payments immediately, but what legislator could resist the temptation to spend half of that money and still take credit for a budget reduction?
So why does Gov. Jon Corzine oppose a gas tax hike? Could it be because today's voters would feel the pain more than our children would?